Improve Your Pronunciation By
Setting Reasonable Goals
Learning a new language is a long, difficult process.
This process can become easier if you set goals. Goals help guide
language learners and give them reasons to continue studying a language.
However, if you set unreasonable goals, then you will probably become
discouraged.
Many English learners set difficult, even unreasonable goals. For
example, here at VOA Learning English, we often read emails with
comments like: "My goal is to sound like a native speaker..." or "My
goal is to lose my accent."
The problem with the goal of sounding like a native speaker is that it
is not a reasonable goal for many people.
Why it is difficult to sound like a native speaker
When English learners begin studying English after a certain age, they
are not able to sound exactly like a native English speaker. That is the
opinion of Eli Hinkel, a professor at Seattle Pacific University.
She says that people who have not reached puberty still have enough
muscle and brain plasticity to allow their brain to control their mouth
muscles. Puberty is the period of life when a child becomes an adult.
After your physical growth has stopped, the brain loses some of its
ability to change the way it controls the muscles of the mouth. This is
what results in an accent, according to Hinkel.
In other words, having an accent is a natural part of the aging process
of the brain.
It's OK to have an accent
Just because you might not sound like a native speaker does not mean
that you should give up trying to improve your pronunciation.
And just because you have an accent does not mean that your language
skills are poor.
Hinkel suggested that English learners should not be too disheartened
about their accents.
"So, there is really no connection between the quality of one's language
and the accent."
She adds that there are even benefits to having an accent.
Eli Hinkel is a native Russian speaker. But she works as a professor in
a Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) program. She believes her
accent helps her when she is teaching students.
"I teach MA TESL courses …So, my students think that I really, really
know what I'm talking about…accent goes a great deal toward that."
Practical tips
Another teacher says sounding like a native speaker is not necessary.
Marla Yoshida is a Teaching English as a Foreign Language Teacher at the
University of California, Irvine. She says that improving your
pronunciation is definitely possible – if you choose a reasonable goal.
"You can reach a stage where your pronunciation is easy for people to
understand, where it never causes a problem... you go into Starbucks and
say your name, and they understand … you give your order and they
understand. So, that's a reasonable goal: being understood easily. Where
sounding like a native speaker is wonderful if you can do it… it's not
necessary."
So, what can English learners do to improve their pronunciation?
Marla Yoshida says that, like when you decide to diet, you are more
likely to have success if you set reasonable goals. She suggests working
on specific areas of pronunciation that you can improve, instead of
trying to sound like a native speaker.
"Work consciously, if you are an adult, to change the way you pronounce.
It's kind of like a diet. If you set a more reasonable goal... then, the
diet might succeed. In the same way, pronunciation … if you have a more
reasonable goal, like… 'I have trouble with the r and l sounds, so first
I'm going try those. And then, when I'm comfortable with those, then
I'll move on to some other sound that causes problems.' It takes time,
but it is possible."
Yoshida added that English learners should understand that improving
their pronunciation can take a long time. She said that learners should
not be tricked by people who claim to be able to help people get rid of
their accents:
"It is good to realize that it [improving pronunciation] is not a fast
process. Everyone has been speaking their native language for years and
years and years. And it's hard to change. Habits of how you move your
mouth are really hard to change. So, don't expect miracles. Sometimes,
people see advertisements for software or courses that say 'get rid of
your accent in only five lessons'—or something... It's not going to
happen! There are no miracles."
So, what can you do?
Start by setting a reasonable goal. Choose one or two sounds that are
difficult for you to pronounce. Then, work to improve those sounds. When
you have improved, study other sounds. Progress might be slow for you,
but don't give up! |
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